What is Context?

 Context - you're told frequently to use it in answers, and I'm sure you're aware that it's how we use the case study or information that we're provided with in an exam - but what is it? 

All too often, students assume that simply mentioning the name of the business, or one piece of information from the case study is enough to earn full context marks, but there's more to it. As I frequently say to my classes - the exam board don't give you that information because they think you'll be bored and want something to read, they give it to you and expect you to use it.

So how can we maximise our context marks? Let's consider the example below:

Reading the above, you'll immediately see "Royal Harbor (RH)" mentioned - so that's our first obvious point of note - don't refer to 'the business', 'they', or even worse, 'you' - instead focus on ensuring you use the name of the business since you've been provided with it. What else though can we draw out as context?

Consider the following:

Industry Area: Hotels and Hospitality - so we can talk about hotels, guest houses, premium hotel, luxurious hotels, tourism, guests, rooms, stays.

Competition: UrbanStay - so we can once again talk about hotels, budget friendly hotels, accommodation, chain hotel.

Target Market: Couples, Families, Tourists and Corporate Clients - all of these can be used as context in relation to our answers.

Market Position: Premium Hotel vs Budget Hotel - so consider high class hotel which is more likely to target couples and wealthy travellers, versus a budget hotel which targets families and corporate clients, amongst other areas.

Other: City Centre Hotel, Overlooking River - this suggests a relaxing stay overlooking the water whilst being convenient for tourists and couples seeking to visit the city centre of the location it's in. It also mentions that it was established in 1932 and that it has grand architecture and luxurious decor, suggesting it is an old fashioned hotel.

This question, as well, provides financial data - the expectation being that you use some of the specific figures contained within it:

So what?! I hear you ask - that's all well and good, but how do we apply that to a question? Let's consider the following, which conveniently includes more context:

Consider the following paragraph as an example of how we can use context as part of our overall response:

"On one hand, Royal Harbor (RH) could consider developing their marketing mix through the use of online and digital channels, such as direct marketing through emailing past customers, or through the use of social media. Social media in particular could benefit RH and help to boost their sales in comparison to UrbanStay, as they could show off their position close to the river, as well as providing clear insights regarding their close links to the city centre. This would benefit RH because it would allow guests to see what they can expect, before they book, rather than booking and not knowing what to expect. This could lead to customers being more aware of the luxurious decor and grand architecture, which could attract customers of a higher socio-economic grouping to visit RH rather than opting to use UrbanStay, therefore benefitting RH as more customers are aware, which may increase their dwindlling revenues of $120m whilst having a minimal impact on their expenses of $170m.

However - RH will need to carefully plan out any marketing and promotion which they undertake through social media, as they will need to ensure that the imagery they use, and any message accompanying the images, is in line with guest expectations. Social media can potentially be viewed as a cheaper and lower quality option, rather than employing a marketing agency to undertake a marketing campaign on RH's behalf, which may lead to potential customers doubting the quality of the hotel, and questioning why they have used this approach. Equally, they run the risk of not reaching their target audience who may not use social media, therefore potentially rendering this approach ineffective overall, if it doesn't actually reach the customers they are trying to attract."

Now - whilst the above is over the top, hopefully this demonstrates how we can take some basic information and use it to ensure we fully justify an answer which we are providing. The basic use of key terms and information from what we've been provided with, demonstrates to the examiner that we've read the information, and that we're applying our answer to the case study - which is what examiners want to see when marking our papers.

So - next time you're presented with a case study, make sure you take the time to really delve in to it, to break it apart, and to consider just how much information you can draw out of the paragraph to make sure your answer is applied to the case study, and is on track to maximise your marks.

Over to you.